Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis in mice. Induction by a single eliciting event and dependence on quantitative parameters of immunization.

Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) in the mouse is a recently developed model of ocular autoimmunity. Dependence of disease induction on qualitative and quantitative parameters of immunization was studied in B10.A mice immunized with interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP). It was found that use of Bordetella pertussis adjuvant as well as its mode of preparation was of critical importance for disease induction; no disease was induced if pertussis adjuvant was omitted. The minimal effective protocol for EAU induction when the vaccine form of B. pertussis adjuvant was used consisted of pretreatment with cyclophosphamide, two divided doses of IRBP in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), and two divided doses of B. pertussis vaccine. Any reduction in the immunization schedule resulted in reduced incidence of disease. In contrast, substituting purified B. pertussis toxin (PTX) for the vaccine allowed reduction of the immunization schedule to a single dose of IRBP in CFA and omission of the cyclophosphamide pretreatment. Severity and incidence of disease could be quantitatively controlled by varying the respective doses of IRBP and PTX. In addition, a chronic or an acute clinical course of EAU could be obtained by using either a low-dose or a high-dose immunization, respectively. Establishment of a single dose induction protocol and the quantitation of the immunopathogenic response as a function of the variables of immunization lay the foundation for the further development and utilization of this promising model of ocular autoimmunity.